John Elford (born 1 March 1947) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played his entire first grade Australian club football for Western Suburbs and also played for both the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

representative sides. He was described as, "A great defender and a confident ball player."

Background

Elford was born in Casino, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

Hailing from Casino, Elford was a Surf lifesaving sprint champion before starting his professional league career. He came to the Western Suburbs club in 1966 as a winger but later was shifted to the forwards where he remained the rest of his career. By 1968 he was playing on the wing for Sydney Seconds. In 1969 Elford appealed against the league's transfer and retention system, that prevented him from joining another club. He claimed that players had attended training with the "smell of alcohol on their breath," and they, "later became sick on the field." He went on to accuse a coach of wanting, "to fight everyone in the first grade behind a shed, one at a time" He took no part in the 1969 season. Despite his previous problems with Magpies, he signed a contract to stay with the club for five years at the start of 1972. Later that year he made his representative debut for

, in what was described as, "a powerhouse display," by, "a rugged young second-rower who delights in the role of crashing defence and can split the opposition in attacking bursts." Elford was then subsequently selected for the Australian national side that same year, scoring two tries in a match against New Zealand. He would be selected for the Australian side in the

1972 Rugby League World Cup The sixth Rugby League World Cup was held in France in October and November 1972. Australia started as the favourites to retain the trophy they had won just two years previously. New Zealand had beaten all three of the other nations in 1971 a ...

held in France but broke his arm in a warm-up fixture prior to the tournament and could not take part. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 461. His promising career was however often halted by injuries, and he was forced out of the entire 1973 season. In 1975, the tendons were operated on and he had a new plate placed in his arm. His career finished in 1976 after another broken arm.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elford, John 1947 births Living people Australian rugby league players Western Suburbs Magpies players Australia national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Casino, New South Wales Rugby league second-rows New South Wales rugby league team players Date of birth missing (living people)